Chasing Rabbits- Friday Flash

The girl stood with her hands on her hips, staring at the doors that surrounded her. Tilting her head sideways, she shook her long blond tresses out of her eyes and frowned.

“He must have come this way,” she muttered to herself. She may have followed him to this point, but this was as far as she could go. All of the doors were locked.

She tapped her foot in frustration, the hem of her light blue dress swaying slightly. How fair was this? Her first real adventure and it was over before it had actually begun.

The girl spun on her heel and started to head back down the hall, when something shiny caught her eye. It glistened brightly on the small table in the center of the room.

She walked over and looked down at the small golden key. She glanced around the room quickly, before picking it up. “This wasn’t here before.” She turned the key over in her palm. “Now, which door do you open?”

The girl turned around and looked at the doors once again. She blinked in surprise.

A tiny door had appeared in the wall between two of the others.

Her lips tugged into a frown at the sight of the new door. “Now, I definitely know you weren’t there before.”

Walking over, the girl gently knelt in front of the door. She slipped the key into the lock and turned it. The door clicked softly and popped open. She swung the door opened and leaned down, trying to peer out of the small opening. She managed to get part of her head in the doorway and gasped in disbelief.

A beautiful garden stretched out beyond the tiny door. Flowers bloomed everywhere she looked. Some were colors she had never even dreamed of before. All of them seemed to smile at her, beckoning the girl to join them in this magical new world.

The girl leaned back and stared at the small door. How was she ever going to fit through that tiny of a space?

She stood up and brushed off her dress. She would just have to find another way out there. That’s all there was to it.

Dropping the key into a pocket at her waist, the girl turned and started to head back towards the hallway. She stopped suddenly as a gasp escaped past her parted lips.

Sitting in the middle of the table that had been empty only minutes before, was a small glass bottle. Bright purple liquid shone from inside.

“What is going on?” the girl pondered as she closed the distance between her and the table. She lifted the bottle up and stared, mesmerized, by the sparkling liquid before her eyes.

Paper fluttered against her fingers, catching her attention. The girl looked at the words there, written in elegant script.

“Drink me,” she read, tracing the words lightly with her finger. She glanced at the liquid once again. What would this beautiful potion do? How would this enchanting concoction unlock the next puzzle piece for her?

The girl uncorked the stopper and brought the bottle to her lips with a smile. What ever was in this bottle would bring her closer to the one she had been chasing. She was sure of it. How could it not? Something this wonderful, this magical, had to result in something as wonderful and magical in return.

Taking a deep breath, the girl parted her lips and downed the liquid. She then sat the bottle back on the table and waited.

She stood there and tapped her foot impatiently, wanting some kind of change to come.

The girl’s eyes suddenly widened as her hands went to her throat. Something was wrong. Her fingers clawed against her skin as her eyes rolled back into her head. She swayed slightly on her feet before she pitched over sideways, falling lifelessly to the ground.

There was a soft click from the other side of the room as one of the doors opened slightly.

Red eyes peered out of the darkness, dancing at the sight of the downed blond.

The door opened wider as the owner of the eyes stepped forward. Nose twitching, a tall white rabbit made his way towards the body.

Flicking his ears out of the way, the rabbit leaned over and wrapped the girl’s hair in his paw. A chuckle escaped past his bucked teeth, as he began to drag the body back towards the open door.

The tapping of claws on tile was the only sound as the rabbit slipped a pocket watch from his waistcoat pocket. He had plenty of time. He would draw this out. She would be different from the others he had drawn down here before, better then those too, who had been dumb enough to drink the strange liquid he had placed before them.

This girl was special. Her body would offer more then the others stacked in the room before him had. The white rabbit’s nose twitched again as the madness consumed his eyes. Saliva dripped from his teeth in anticipation. The fun was about to begin.

I always thought rabbits were nasty creatures (our cats would catch wild ones & drag them home stunned but not dead. They always woke up kicking the crap out of whatever was in their way). Nice, dark twist on a classic, though I wish you’d gotten to it sooner.